Shortly after I had a great meeting with a woman who designs employee wellness programs for employers, I took pizza, soda and cookies for lunch to a client and his crew. I am sure that my lunch offering pushed their health ratings back into the dark ages.
Of course, one component of ‘wellness’ is happiness with yourself and your job. There is no doubt that a healthier ‘you’ is a happier ‘you’. However, a catered lunch of carrot sticks, apple wedges and natural spring water goes over like the proverbial dead mouse in the bunch bowl. After we had gorged ourselves (I drank a diet soda!) on greasy pizza and cookies and had several good laughs it was back to work. There was a noticeable mood change at the workplace after lunch. There was a little less tension and a little more relaxation. You could hear it in the voices of the employees on the phones.
While a healthy workforce is a necessary and important goal, let’s not forget the mental health of the employees. For those of us who have not been on the frontlines of answering phones, filling orders, driving the truck, shipping & receiving, warehouse duties, etc. being height-weight proportional with excellent blood pressure only goes so far in keeping our spirits buoyed at work.
It’s possible that a pizza and soda lunch, for a group that is inclined to that menu, will help management introduce wellness programs. We must realize that there is still a gap between labor and management. Management has to gain the confidence of labor in order to initiate change. Labor needs to view management with less skepticism with regards to initiatives in the workplace.
All of that ‘good will’ in the work place only happens when we remember that we are all human. We find out the supervisor is human when we break bread (eat pizza and drink soda) with that individual. From my perspective, an occasional unhealthy and tasty lunch can build bridges that will enhance wellness programs down the road.